End of Days Well  Sort Of
by Divatox240
Summary: Gaia's just trying to make it to Paradise with her pack and to locate the family she lost. But will the Journey ever end. A walk through Wolf's Rain through the eyes of a new member of the pack. TsumexOC


**A/N:**** Aug. 31st, 1:41pm. Hey, guess who? I know that I have a Star Wars story going but I have gotten in a Wolf's Rain "mood." When writing a story I get in a "mood," and can only think of that specific story for awhile. But not to worry, I will continue Star Wars soon. For now, here's my Wolf's Rain story.**

**WARNING****: This is a re-telling of Wolf's Rain with my character in it (may become slightly AU towards the end). So if you are looking for a quick romance story, you won't find it here. So, shoo.**

**Rated: T. . . for now, I will change it to M when I get there.**

**Pairing:**** TsumexGaia (Don't know who that is? Well then read! Enjoy!)**

**Summary:**** The journey to Freeze City was difficult, but she finally caught up to him. But the journey's just begun.**

**Chapter 1: Enter Freeze City**

The pitch-colored wolf was completely out of breath when she finally reached the base of the domed city. Panting, she collapsed in the snow, completely drained of all energy . . ._and starving, don't forget starving_, she thought glumly, _thirsty, too. I have __got__ to get water before I die_. She had a thicker fur coat than most that protected her well against the elements and had had enough energy to make it this far, so she was generally well off. But she had to get nourishment while she still had some strength left. If she stopped moving long enough, she wouldn't be able to get moving again. And she couldn't stay here in the snow. It was already piling on top of her, turning her fur white. She would die shortly if she slept here.

She had run for days . .weeks, she really couldn't remember. The days seemed to blur together, especially after the terrain all looked the same after a while. She had been through a lot recently, crossing rivers, forests, scaling mountains and traversing deserts. But the hardest part was traveling through this Northern Country. Unlike other environments, this one was the most brutal to its visitors. Even in the desert, there was always some sort of life that was perfectly suited for survival in those harsh conditions that she could use for food. But here, where everything was covered in an inescapable blanket of snow and ice, nothing survived. The entire northern part of the world was eternally plunged into an endless blizzard. This far north, the only hope of survival, for humans and animals alike, was to live in domed cities like this one.

Right now, the only things that dared to move outside the dome, besides her, were a train, that she had followed to get here, which carried food for the nobles and three guards standing outside of a large, rusted metal door which marked the nearest entrance to the dome. They were currently huddled around a barrel they were using to burn trash; doing their best to stay warm. They were about a couple dozen yards away, but they didn't see her because _their_ eyesight couldn't penetrate the thick snowfall.

She had arrived at Freeze City, the furthest and oldest domed city in the north. Over the last 500 years or so, due to the ignorance of the humans, the planet's atmosphere and oceans have been poisoned because of a lack of empathy. The humans started building domed cities to survive the self-inflicted deteriorating conditions of the outside rather than move south. _Stubborn humans_, Gaia rolled her eyes to the sky. _They never just go with nature, they have to rebel against it._ The problem was that the planet was on a downwards spiral to destruction. The temperatures would continue to drop, slowly freezing the planet and anything too far north or south was already frozen. The only hospitable land was near the equator, but that, too, would eventually freeze over in time. But the humans don't know that, they keep clinging to the hope that they will survive this ice age. Heck, most wolves don't even know that, of the few that are still alive.

Gaia stood up, shaking the snow off, once again revealing her black, wet coat underneath. Gazing up into the storm, she began to examine the dome.

It was a typical dome, similarly constructed like the ones she had seen in the south. However, unlike those, this one appeared to be hundreds of years older. _This one has definitely passed its warranty_, she chuckled mischievously. The concrete wall that loomed over her head stood about 600 ft. It was worn and chunks were missing out of parts in the wall. The poly-glass started where the concrete ended and curved up and away, completing the dome. She could only assume that the glass dome had similar signs of the lack of maintenance over the last century at least.

Gaia shivered as a gust of wind blew past her, cutting through her fur right down to her skin. She had to get out of this weather. She assumed her human disguise and started to approach the group of soldiers. She had black shoulder-length hair with full, red lips and large, bright green eyes that tried to penetrate the ever-blowing storm. She wore dark blue boot-cut jeans with black, leather knee-high boots. A black choker around her neck had a large red stone embedded in the center. A brown, pinstriped sleeveless vest was covered by a heavy, grey jacket that tapered to a cape in the back. She liked the affect the jacket had on her form. The cool thing about the jacket was that it represented her winter coat, so she could "shed" it when she didn't need it, but then "grow" it back out if the need would arise. But for now it barely warmed her enough.

Cautiously walking up to the guards, she made her way to casually warm herself by the fire. As she got closer, she saw that the barrel and the soldiers were covered by a make-shift lean-to. It blocked the snow from putting out the fire and probably provided a little bit of shelter, too. Seeing her approach, the guards brought their guns to bear but lowered them when they noticed she was a woman and unarmed. One of the guards cautiously moved towards her. He squinted at her, eyes widening in shock, "My! You're going to freeze to death out here, lady. Where are you from?" He yelled into the storm. The other guards moved closer to investigate, still keeping a tight grip on their guns. "Come on! Get out of this horrid weather." He shouted, indicating the lean-to. Keeping a wary eye on them, she followed them out of the storm.

After shaking the snow off their clothes, the officer who spoke to her turned back, "Okay. My name is Lieutenant Sanders. Now where did you say you were from?" He calmly asked, not having to shout over the wind. Another officer handed her a warm cup of coffee. Still keeping an eye on them, she took a sip.

She made a face as the bitter taste slid down her throat. Handing the cup back, she nodded her head, "Thank you, but I'm good," she smiled softly. "My name is Gaia. I'm from a village to the south. Everyone was killed and I have nowhere to go." She lied easily.

"I'm Sergeant Walsh. Do you have identification, ma'am?" The taller guard asked. "We will need it to create a citizen report." Seeing confusion cross her face, he continued. "We have many refugees coming to Freeze City. We just need your name and home-village to keep track of people's movement."

She shrugged apologetically, "I'm sorry. Everything was destroyed in the fire." The guards passed a glance in between them. "Well, which village did you live in?" Lt. Sanders asked.

"I lived in Whinita Village to the southwest." she pointed in the desired direction, "It's pretty far away from here." She finished. It wasn't entirely a lie. She happened to be passing through when the village came under attack by Jaguara's soldiers. She tried to help the citizens, but they were all killed. She barely made it out alive while her soldiers torched the village to ashes.

The third officer spoke up, "Oh, I heard about that village. Yeah, it just burned down a few days ago, they thought no one survived. You're really lucky." He sighed dejectedly. "All of their records were destroyed, too."

Turning away, he pulled out a radio and patched it through to their command center. "Command, we have a refugee who has no identification and no passport. She's the only survivor of the Whinita incident. What do you suggest we do?" His voice trailed away as he walked off out of earshot.

Gaia thought that it was unusual that these soldiers were required to be out here all day. _I mean, there's nothing out here!_ She thought. "How long are guys out here? This land seems inhospitable; no one's going to be moving around out here, right?" She said, glancing around. "Well, except for me." She added almost as an afterthought.

"Well, you'd be surprised how many refugees come through here each day. Why, just today, we had a man come through with his dog." Gaia's expression hardened, the guards didn't seem to notice. Sanders interjected, "Yeah, with that big blue dog. She was a beauty. I wonder how their doing. You know, his village was destroyed, too." He looked thoughtful, "What was it called, Kyrios?"

Gaia frowned when they weren't looking. She had run into that human and his dog several times. He tried to kill her on the few occasions they crossed paths, and that dog was possessed. She was able to track her all the way north. The fact that they had gotten here first was a good sign: he wasn't still looking for her.

Walsh was about to add something when the third officer returned. "Very good," a garbled voice could be heard over the radio. "She'll be fine, Lt. Callaway." The radio died and Callaway cursed as he put it in his vest. "Damn, piece of crap." he muttered angrily.

Straightening his uniform he turned to her and smiled. He indicated the large metal door, "You can come inside. The city isn't as glamorous as it used to be, but you can at least survive until you get on your feet."

Taking a step back, she shook her head. Raising a skeptical eyebrow, she regarded the officer, "I'm afraid I can't. You see, I don't have money or a passport to get in." _If worse comes to worse, I can always make an entrance_, she thought wryly.

Callaway, who was stouter then the others, put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. I'm sure Lord Orkham would more than willing to accommodate you."

Shivering, they all made their way towards the dome. The Sergeant walked up to a control panel and punched in a set of numbers. The panel turned green as the large metal doors opened just enough to get them inside. Walking in, she saw that they entered a tunnel-like hallway. It clearly ran through the wall of the dome, giving access to the city itself. It wasn't much warmer, but it beat staying out there. _At least it isn't snowing in here_, she thought ruefully. The voices of the crowds inside blended together to form a constant, echoing noise that rang in your ears. The voices were coming from groups of soldiers that had set up security checkpoints to usher in the new refugees. It reminded Gaia of an underground subway system because of the distinctive noise and smell. It wasn't too bad; if the smell of moth-eaten clothes mingled with sweat didn't bother you. The humans had formed long lines in front of the officers, hoping to get into the warmth of the inner city. _They won't find much warmth in here_, she thought sadly looking around at the down-cast humans.

Glancing behind him, Sanders spoke over the din, "Normally, you would have to go through processing." He waved his arm at the long lines of humans, "But since you have no ID, you can go on through and get one inside the city. It isn't standard procedure but we're going to cut you some slack." He smiled wickedly.

Lieutenant Sanders walked her through the last security checkpoint and to another set of metal doors. "There's a women's shelter just down the street after you get in. They'll be able to give you a place to rest for now. A couple of officers will be by to ask for ID. Just tell them Lt. Sanders said you needed one, and they'll take care of you." Gesturing to the guards by the door, he turned to walk away. "Good luck." He smiled one last time, and then he headed back out the other door to his cold post once again. Another guard punched in a code similar to the one the Sergeant used, and the last door opened.

Nodding to the guards in front, she stepped into the large dome. The smell that greeted her made her nose curl. Looking around she saw her first look at Freeze City. A few humans passed on the street, eyeing her suspiciously before continuing on their way pulling scarves and coats tighter around them. She had been right to assume the dome would hold no such comfort as warmth; in fact, it was anything but. There were cracks in the dome, letting in the harsh temperatures and snow into this run-down city. The buildings on the outskirts of the city looked seemingly abandoned. _No one has lived in them for decades_, she mused.

She thought she heard someone whistle at her. But when she looked around to find the offender, everyone averted their eyes. Rolling her own to the sky, she grumbled. _Ugh! Humans are so revolting and disrespectful. I'd like to give them a piece of my mind. _She started her trek down the street, or what was left of it. It looked more like a broken down alley than a usable path of travel. Upon rounding another corner, her exhaustion hit her again in full swing. "Oh, right." She yawned, stretching her swore back. "I've got to get something to eat. Wonder where I can get some food around here?" She looked around an empty intersection, with its piles of garbage and abandoned litter. Seeing nothing useful, she sighed, "Ah, I'm never going to get anywhere like this. I've got to get higher." Turning to face the closest building, she pushed off of her back legs and shot up into the air. She jumped off of a fire escape and a chimney before reaching the top. From her new vantage point, she could see more of the city. As you moved toward the heart of the city, the buildings were better maintained. The largest structure was a spire looking building that most likely represented the home of the ruling noble, Orkham. She tilted her head in amusement, "Ha ha, it looks like a dead tree!" She shook her head, never able to understand the nobles' taste in style.

"Well, Gaia," She sighed, "Welcome to Freeze City." Looking around, she shivered, "Well, the name fits."

She was about to jump down, when she smelled something getting closer. Sniffing the air, she gasped. It was a male wolf and he wasn't in a good mood. She whirled around ready to face her seemingly invisible attacker. Internally shaking in fear, she realized it was a big one. However, she never let her fear rise to the surface.

Then, a large grey wolf jumped onto the building. He stopped short when he saw her. He had a large faded X-shaped scar on his chest and many smaller ones all over his body. This wolf has been in plenty of fights and isn't afraid to get in a few more. Unsure of what to do next, she did what instinct commanded of her. She took up a defensive posture by hunching her back and bristling her fur, hoping that he would just leave. She wasn't about to show submission, but this wolf could tear her apart. She's had issues with male wolves recently. Because they were close to extinction, every female was valuable property. They were always trying to claim her as a mate, but she was on a mission. She didn't have time to worry about pups yet or being chained to someone for life. She would act aggressively for now and see what happens.

**TBC! DONE! **

**Dec. 8th, 2011 - 12:59pm – This chapter has been fully revised. YAY!**

**Review Responses: (I will respond to all!) **

**heyimfromLONDON: Thank you for your review. Like they say, reviews encourage a writer to, well, write. I'm glad you like the story so far. The only other person who's read it, is my sister. It helps to have another opinion to tell me I'm on the right track.** **I also updated it again and revised it, so enjoy!**

**L8ters, Divatox240 (:**


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